One of the biggest diamond companies is ever is Big Red Diamond Corporation. The news tells that BRDC is now publishing the new status of the company. It seems that BRDC wants to have something better for the company’s progress. BRDC considers that updating of the company and its status is one of the ways to make the company more exist in the diamond market competition. The news telling about the new status of BRDC was first released in Montreal,on January 18, 2008. The news states that - Big Red Diamond Corporation (TSX-V: “DIA”-suspended) is pleased to provide an update on the Company and its status.
The Company Big Red Diamond Corporation (BRDC or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has submitted a request for removal of the trading suspension and application for relisting of the Company’s shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. This application includes a proposal whereby three (3) new Directors will be appointed to the Board and the Management team will be augmented with the appointment of two (2) new personnel.
Since receiving the resignation of Francois Desrosiers on August 7, 2007, the Company has been without the services of a full time President and CEO. Mr. Martin Nicoletti, the Company’s CFO has taken on the additional responsibilities of the President as well as CFO and looked after the day to day operations of
the Company. The Board wishes to acknowledge his excellent contributions and thank him for his invaluable contributions to the Company during this difficult period. The Company continues to maintain it’s regulatory filings and is current with all of it’s required filings. The Management Team and Board of Directors proposed to the TSX-V are:
Ken Ralfs - President, Chief Executive Officer and Director,
Martin Nicoletti – Chief Financial Officer,
Lili Radoi – Corporate Secretary,
Jean-Francois Perrault – Independent Director
Michael Neary – Independent Director
Clinton Barr – Independent Director,
Mike Clemann – Independent Director.
Martin Nicoletti, will continue as the Company’s CFO. Further, Messrs. Jean-Francois Perrault and Michael Neary, who were both elected as independent directors at the Company’s October 31, 2007 AGM, have agreed to remain as directors. Following is a brief biography of each of member of the team proposed to the TSX-V.
Ken Ralfs is a 1975 graduate of the University of British Columbia with a major in geology.
Employment as a geologist, project manager, stock broker, senior management and director of public companies (including President of Santa Cruz Ventures) has enabled Mr. Ralfs to develop and hone the
managerial, financial and problem solving skills so crucial to successfully managing a public company. He is currently self employed and serves as Director for several companies. Jean-François Perrault, graduated from McGill University in 1984 (Bachelor of Economics) and from Concordia University in 1989 (M.B.A.). He counts over 20 years of experience in the merchant banking
and investment banking industries. Prior to joining Union Securities Ltd as Vice-President, Corporate Finance in 2004, Mr. Perrault founded Pavilion Capital Partners in October 2002, a group providing consultancy and financial advisory services to institutional investors on alternative assets where he acted
and continues to act as the Managing Partner. Prior to that, Mr. Perrault was Vice-President and Director of TD Capital for approximately five years (1998-2002) where he was involved in completing small to mid-market investments – he also helped launch TD Capital private Equity Partners, Canada’s first
international private equity Fund of Funds (approximately 350,000,000$US). Prior to joining TD Capital, Mr. Perrault was a Senior Vice-President, Corporate Finance with Marleau, Lemire Securities from 1995- 1998. Prior to 1995, he held various senior positions with the Fonds de Solidarit̩ FTQ (a labor sponsored venture fund), KPMG and Canadian Corporate Funding Limited (CCFL) Рa private equity group. Michael Neary, is currently Vice President and Director at ThoughtSpeed eCommerce, a Toronto based Technology Solutions Company focused on web based order management solutions. From 2002 to 2007, he was a founder and executive at pVelocity Inc., a developer of Profit
Intelligence Solutions for Global Manufacturing Companies. From 1992 to 2001, Mr. Neary was a founder and VP Sales at Kitimat Systems Inc. a leading developer of Transportation Management Software in North America. In 1999, Kitimat Systems was purchased by Milwaukee based HK Systems.
Mr. Neary has a Bachelor’s of Economics from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from the University of Cape Town.
Clinton Barr has been involved in mining exploration for over twenty years. He graduated from Lakehead University in 1991 with an H.B.Sc in Geology and is a registered Professional Geologist. From 1989-2001 Clinton worked for Noranda and Inco as a project geologist, generating and evaluating base
and precious metal opportunities both in Canada and offshore. During his tenure with Noranda he was involved in the discovery of five new base metal deposits. From 2001 to 2004 Mr. Barr consulted to numerous companies engaged in the exploration business including companies exploring for diamonds within Canada. As a founder, director, Chief Financial and Qualified Person of Benton Resources Corporation Mr. Barr has been intimately involved in the successful startup of a Junior resource company, including an IPO and listing on the TSX-V Exchange. Mr. Barr continues as an Officer and Director of
Benton Resources. His experience with exploration projects from grassroots to advanced projects and his financial experience give him a unique set of skills with which to direct and manage junior exploration companies as well as evaluate both the geological and political environments that are so critical to the success of junior resource companies.
Mike Clemann graduated from Bishops University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Business Economics. He has completed various courses within the Investment Dealers Association including the Canadian Securities Course and the Conduct and Practices Handbook. After spending 11 years working in the investment banking and brokerage business in Zurich, Switzerland, Mr. Clemann is currently Managing Director of FX Capital Ltd., a Canadian based financial advisory firm. His work at several Canadian and Swiss based banking and investment houses provides Mr. Clemann with an exceptional breadth of
experience in the corporate finance of public companies. His varied professional experience, both in raising and providing financing empower him with financial skills that are an asset to public companies. The current Board is confident that the experience and leadership ability of the new team will be an asset to Big Red and it shareholders. The new appointments are conditional upon the receipt of the approval from the TSX-V. The Exchange’s review of Messrs. Ken Ralfs, Clinton Barr and Mike Clemann and Ms. Lili Radoi remains to be completed. Updates on the progress of the relisting and TSX-V approval of the new appointees will be provided as the Exchange comments on the relisting application and the Exchange concludes its investigation into the
suitability of the new appointees. Since its suspension from trading, the Company has continued working on various of its properties.
BRDC holds four types of properties in its portfolio. These properties are held for their potential to host at least one of the following minerals: diamonds, gold or base metals, uranium, or an industrial mineral. Following is a brief summary of the exploration work completed in 2007 and the Company’s exploration
plans for 2008, for each property. Diamond Properties.
The Company’s primary asset is its interest in two joint ventures exploring for diamonds in the Attawapiskat region of Northern Ontario with Kel-Ex Developments Ltd. The original Attawapiskat Joint Venture Agreement with Kel-Ex Ltd. was modified in September 2004 when Kel-Ex assigned to the
Company an identical working interest in the Dumont Nickel Attawapiskat Property. While the original Attawapiskat claims and the Dumont claims are non-contiguous, the claims are all located within 25 kilometers of each other and claims in both the JV’s range from 4 kilometers to 22 kilometers away from DeBeers new Victor Diamond Mine which is currently under development and construction. The Victor Mine is located in geologic terrain similar to that underlying claims controlled by the Company’s Joint Ventures with Kel-Ex.
Recent exploration on the Attawapiskat JV’s has focused on evaluation of previous exploration results, data compilation, planning future exploration work and property maintenance. Kel-Ex Developments Ltd. is expected to convene a JV Management Committee meeting in the New Year to formalize work
plans and present a JV budget for 2008. The Foleyet diamond exploration property is a 50-50 Joint Venture with AntOro Resources Inc. and is
located within the Patricia Mining Division in Ontario The Joint Venture acquired a 100% interest in the property subject to a 1.1% NSR retained by the vendor. Big Red is the Project operator. Exploration work in 2007 focused on analysis and evaluation of data collected during a mapping and sampling program completed during the 2006 field season. A 2008 work program consisting of ground geophysics and basal till sampling is planned at a budgeted cost of $10,000. This work is sufficient to maintain the property in good standing.
The Hemlo diamond property is a 50-50 Joint Venture with AntOro Resources Inc and is located withinthe Patricia Mining Division in Ontario. The Joint Venture acquired a 100% interest in the property subject to a 1% NSR retained by the vendor. Big Red is the Project operator. Exploration work completed during 2007 focused on analysis of data generated by a geophysical interpretation done by Scott Hogg and Associates in early 2006 on 15 targets identified by airbourne geophysics as well as analysis of other data available in the public domain. The 2008 work plan is to conduct ground geophysics, geologic mapping and basal till sampling at a budgeted cost of $20,000. This work is sufficient to maintain the property in good standing.
The Frederike diamond property is 100% owned by BRDC and is located east of Desmaraisville, Quebec. 2007 exploration work consisted of the review, compilation and analysis of historic local and regional data, available in the public domain. Phase 1 exploration plans are budgeted at $300,000 for airbourne geophysics covering the entire property, so as to decrease the 200 meter flight line spacing of the government geophysics and increase the data density and resolution. This will facilitate better identification and location of linear and circular anomalies shown on the government data which may
indicate the presence of kimberlite dikes or plugs or kimberlite like rocks. If the airbourne geophysical results identify targets of merit, a Phase 2 exploration will be developed that will include ground geophysics and overburden and basal till sampling to further pinpoint targets for follow-up diamond drilling in a Phase 3 work program if results warrant. The decision of when to implement the airbourne geophysical work is dependent on the amount of financing raised and the success of exploration work on
the Company’s uranium exploration properties. Successful exploration results on one or more of the uranium properties may cause the Company to change it’s priorities for the expenditure of funds and delay work on the Frederike property. Sufficient past work has been completed to maintain the property
in good standing through 2008. The Valentine property was staked by BRDC and continues to be held as a 100% owned diamond property. The claims are all within the Valentine township of Ontario and were staked primarily because
of circular geophysical anomalies that may indicate the presence of kimberlite pipes. Previous exploration work by BRDC has identified three potential kimberlite targets. A 2008 work program, budgeted at $26,000 is planned to conduct confirmation ground IP to better identify the location of the
potential kimberlite targets prior to drilling. This work will be adequate to fulfill the assessment work requirements for the property. Assuming success with the confirmation ground IP, follow-up exploration work is budgeted at $301,000 and includes an airbourne EM survey and three (3) diamond drill holes as
well as additional sampling. Government data contain reports of anomalous copper associated with a carbonatite that occurs on the property, which suggests the property may have the potential to host base metal mineralization. Gold Properties BRDC is acquiring a 100% interest in the Bristol property subject to an underlying 3% NSR retained by the vendors. One payment of $7,500 remains to be paid, on February 27, 2008, at which time BRDC will have acquired a 100% interest. The Bristol property is located 10 kilometers west of the historic gold camp of Timmins, Ontario and on the westward projection of the Destor Porcupine Fault. Timmins area mines are nearly all located on the Destor Porcupine Fault and the area is well recognized in the mining community as an area that hosts multiple gold deposits that have each produced several million ounces of gold. The Bristol property was acquired for its gold potential because it is located on the Destor Porcupine Fault. Data obtained during the first work program on the property in 2006 found kimberlite and diamond indicator minerals in overburden samples. 2007 exploration work re-evaluated the data obtained from the 2006 field work and developed a work program of overburden stripping, sampling and ground geophysics to further identify and quantify the potential of this property to host gold mineralization and identify the rock types causing three linear magnetic anomaly’s that appear to be dikes. While these dike like features may be kimberlites or kimberlite like rocks, these linear magnetic features are believed to be mafic gabbro dikes similar to other such dikes in the Timmins camp. The Company plans to spend $10,000 on outcrop and overburden sampling in 2008, thus completing enough work to maintain the property in good standing. The Company acquired a 100% interest in the Munro property subject to an underlying 1.5% NSR retained by the vendor. The property is located about 20 kilometers east of Matheson, Ontario. 2007 exploration work consisted of the development of exploration plans for the property which consist of grid cutting, overburden stripping and sampling, geophysics, MMI geochemistry and follow-up drilling. Exploration plans for 2008 are budgeted at $26,000 for grid cutting and pack sack drilling. This work will maintain the property in good standing. Additional work may be done in 2008 if funding becomes available.
Uranium Properties
The Maro / Andy Lake properties are a 50-50 Joint Venture with AntOro Resources Inc. Each Company holds a 50% interest in the option to purchase a 100% interest in the Maro / Andy Lake properties, subject to an underlying 2% NSR retained by the vendor. On the Maro property, during the 2006 field season, a reconnaissance, ground radiometric prospecting program was conducted across three targets identified, sampled and drilled by previous operators. On the Andy Lake property, which is contiguous with Nova Uranium’s Mont-Laurier property in Quebec, the 2006 work program established two grid sections on separate anomalies identified by previous
operators. The grids were systematically explored with ground radiometric surveys and outcrop sampling. In 2007 the Company focused on compiling and analyzing the 2006 data in conjunction with data reported by prior operators as well as other data in the public domain, report writing and development of a
2008 work program. The work program developed consists of additional ground radiometric survey lines between and outside the 2006 lines, to increase the density, resolution and areal coverage of the ground
radiometric data. Additional outcrop sampling as well as overburden stripping followed by sampling is also planned Assuming that future work corroborates results obtained to date, this work is expected to be followed up with a first phase core drilling in 2009. Other 2008 work is planned to establish additional cut grids for radiometric surveys over other targets not explored during 2006. It is expected that at least part of this work will also be completed during 2008 but that some of the work will remain to be completed in 2009
as results warrant. The 2008 phase of the work (grid cutting, radiometric surveys, overburden stripping and sampling, and outcrop sampling) is estimated to cost $292,000. Sufficient work has been completed
to maintain the claims in good standing beyond 2008. The Joint Venture is required to expend $600,000 in exploration work on the two (2) properties combined by February 15, 2009. To date, $259,888.27 has been spent exploring on the property. (The total spent is still being verified.)
The Strategis property is held 100% by BRDC, subject to an underlying 1.5% NSR retained by the vendor. This property is contiguous to the East of the Strateco Resources Matoush Project. The Company’s 2007 work consisted of review and compilation of historic data from the property and the surrounding area, followed by the development of a work plan that will systematically explore the property. The first phase of this work program is airbourne geophysics and radiometrics to be followed up with grid cutting, ground geophysics and radiometrics, outcrop sampling, and overburden stripping
and sampling in order to better define the underlying geology and potential uranium targets on the property. If this exploration work is successful in defining drill targets then diamond drilling will follow, probably in 2009. The 2008 work program, budgeted at $325,000 will complete the airbourne geophysics and some ground radiometrics. The claims remain is good standing through the end of 2008.
Industrial Mineral Property
Big Red holds a 100% interest in the Attawapiskat Gravel property. This property is a gravel deposit in the James Bay low lands staked by BRDC and is held because gravel deposits are scarce in this part of Northern Ontario. No work has previously been done on the property. The property was restaked the last time it came open. Big Red plans to spend $10,000 doing auger sampling for gravel quality during 2008. This work will be sufficient to maintain the property in good standing. The work plans summarized above, are subject to the availability of financing.
Financing
In December, the Company received unsolicited expressions of interest from shareholders and investment houses regarding investment in the Company. Unfortunately, the Company was unable to address these expressions of interest as it was not yet re-listed for trading. After achieving re-listing for trading, the Company plans to re-visit those shareholders and investment houses that have already expressed an interest in investing in the Company, as well as other BRDC shareholders. The Company also plans to improve it’s exposure in the investment community by making presentations to the managers of investment funds, mutual funds and stock brokers who are not yet invested in the Company and are known to invest in junior exploration companies. Lastly, the Company will attend various of the investment conferences that are held across Canada and the United States to increase exposure to high net worth individuals who are familiar with the investment opportunities and risks associated with the junior exploration market.
The minimum financing required maintain the existing property interests in 2008 is $879,000. The Company plans to raise $300,000 over and above that amount to complete work plans for the Frederike property Work schedules, financing plans and property maintenance are subject to adjustment depending upon when the Company is relisted for trading.
This press release was prepared by Michael P. Gross, Chairman of the Board of Big Red Diamond
Corporation and a qualified person as defined in national policy 43-101.
Big Red Diamond is a diamond exploration company whose main asset is its participation in the Attawapiskat and Dumont Joint Ventures with Kel-Ex Development Ltd. a company owned by Charles Fipke, the discoverer of the
Ekati diamond mine in the NWT. This joint-venture is involved in a diamond exploration in Northern Ontario, in an area near the De Beers Victor diamond project. Big Red also owns outright a number of diamond and precious metals exploration properties in Northern Ontario as well as diamond and uranium exploration properties in Quebec.
KEN RALFS
President and CEO
Cell Phone: (604) 723-9600
Fax: (514) 907-9017
MARTIN NICOLETTI
CFO
Telephone: (514) 907-9016 – Ext. 160
Fax: (514) 907-9017
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